A rare collection of African art assembled over nearly 30 years by a leading Genentech biochemist will go on display at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park in late January, marking the first time the public has seen many of the carved forms and shapes.

The collection, "Embodiments: Masterworks of African Figurative Sculpture," was assembled by scientist Richard Scheller, who was taken by African art's "amazing forms," but fascinated when he began to learn what the sculptures represent.

"At first I was interested in the form and shapes," said Scheller, 60, who as executive vice president of research and early development at Genentech spends much of his time talking with scientists about medicines that will significantly impact the lives of patients. "Then I became extremely fascinated that people believed these carved forms were an idealized concept of what the ancestor would look like after entering the spirit world."

He added, "The carved forms didn't represent the ancestor; they became the ancestor. So not only were they extremely beautiful and interesting, but (my collecting) became a way of preserving these incredibly varied, diverse, and rich cultures."

He also appreciates the influence African art and objects have had on modern art and abstraction in Europe.

"There are many photos of Picasso in his studio where you see his collection of African and Oceanic art," Scheller said. "It's hard to deny the inspiration he took from African art."

The collection of 120 sculptures, which tell stories of community values and religious traditions, are drawn from sub-Saharan Africa and date from 400 years old up until 1950.

"They are from most of the countries of (sub-Saharan) Africa," Scheller said. "We have already given certain pieces to the de Young, and it is our intent that the pieces of the exhibition will be given to the de Young in the future."

Scheller, a professor at Stanford for 19 years before joining Genentech, is married to Susan McConnell, a Stanford biology professor and noted wildlife photographer. The two travel to Africa nearly every year.

Scheller said that he has used his molecular biology background to better understand the objects he collects.

"It's hard to tell what kind of wood was used in these objects," Scheller said. "Many were carved hundreds of years ago in the middle of what was then called the Belgian Congo. The works are all anonymous. Some folks who work for me took wood from the bottom of the objects and got the DNA. We weren't able to identify the precise species of tree, but we were able to identify relatives of the species of the tree that was used. So we got the closest relative in the existing plant database."

The DNA extraction and analysis process used by Genentech should one day help museums determine such things as the authenticity of the work.

Christina Hellmich, curator of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at the de Young, said that the Scheller collection will add to the museum's trove of African art drawn from exhibitions dating to as early as 1894.

"The Scheller exhibition and catalog will expand public understanding of the connections between representation and meaning in African art," Hellmich said. "And our presentation will be enriched by Richard's personal interest in scientific testing of and research on these artworks."